With the new Melton Station open to the community, we’re taking a look back at more than 140 years of railway history with long-time local, Beth McDonald.
Beth and her family have lived opposite Melton Station for decades, giving her a first-hand perspective to the many changes the station and the surrounding community have experienced over the years.
“Living so close to the railway line we had a front row seat to the various trains going through; passenger, the Overland [sleeper] train to Adelaide, long trains carrying freight, new car carriers, even livestock. I remember when the Queen Mother went through by train to Ballarat. Nearly the whole town got to stand close to the railway track and wave to her."
But her connection to the railway goes back much further. Her grandfather, Richard Henry Arthur, was one of Melton’s Station Masters from 1922 until the mid 1930s.
Richard was an integral part of the Melton community, also working as a correspondent for the local newspaper, the Melton Express, where he wrote about all things Melton.
“My family were railway mad, my mother and uncles, it was ingrained in them. They were so happy when I started taking the train myself in the mid 60s, and also started working for Victorian Railways… It runs in the family.”
Beth went on to work administration for the Victorian Railways (now V/Line), following in the footsteps of her family. She would catch the 7:32am train from Melton to her job on the third floor of 67 Spencer Street, the headquarters of Victorian Railways each day, continuing the tradition.
Beth remembers the many iterations of the station, which has played an important role in her life and the wider town, connecting the township to the region and bringing people from the city through as it continued to grow.
“The station played such a big part in the farming community which is what Melton was for a long time. The 2 chaff mills near the railway line would take their oaten hay sheaves and turn it into chaff which would be delivered by rail to various locations."
Melton Station first opened in 1884. Like the suburb itself, the station was named after Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England.
The station played a significant role in the development of Melton and Victoria’s western rail network, forming part of the first stage of the direct Melbourne to Ballarat railway and supporting both passenger services and freight operations along the broad-gauge rail corridor.
Melton Station opened when the railway line from Braybrook Junction, now Sunshine, was extended westward.
Over its operational life, the station underwent several changes and upgrades as the suburb continued to grow. In 1991, a second platform was added, allowing more train services to run through the expanding suburb.
Now, more than a century after the first trains arrived in Melton, the station is enjoying a new chapter. The new, modern and accessible station opened on Tuesday 1 September designed to meet the needs of Melbourne’s growing west, with 4 platforms and lift and stair access via a 16m wide through link, which also provides locals with a safer way to cross the rail line.
The new station features longer platforms for 9-car VLocity trains set to run to Melton from next year, boosting capacity by 50% on peak services, and is future proofed for Melton Line electrification.
Works are continuing across the station precinct on the northern forecourt, air-conditioned waiting room, toilet facilities, bus interchange, landscaping and car parks until early 2027.
Four dangerous and congested level crossings at Coburns Road, Exford Road and Ferris Road in Melton, and at Hopkins Road in Truganina, have also been removed as part of the project.